Investigation Requested Into Kevin McCarthy For Potentially Breaking The Law

An investigation has been requested into Kevin McCarthy for misusing government funds as part of his campaign to be elected Speaker of the House.

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Kevin McCarthy’s deal to not get involved in Republican primaries immediately set off alarm bells with good government experts. It wasn’t that McCarthy was giving up too much power to his opponents, but that he was crossing a legal and ethical line and electioneering for the job of being the next Speaker of the House.

The group End Citizens United has filed a complaint that is requesting an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics into McCarthy's potential misusing taxpayer resources for his bid to be elected Speaker.

Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United wrote:

I am writing to request that the Office of Congressional Ethics (“OCE”) immediately investigate Representative Kevin McCarthy and others acting on his behalf for their apparent egregious misuse of official House resources for political purposes.

McCarthy and House staff acting on his behalf are using official resources to plan and direct campaign and political activities with federal super PACs. The House Ethics Manual clearly states that resources of the House may not be used for campaign or political purposes. But this is exactly what McCarthy and others on his behalf are doing.

In an effort to secure enough votes for the Speakership position, McCarthy and House staff appear to be negotiating political spending in federal races, including drafting amendments to reflect their agreement, using the official resources of the House. House ethics rules exist to maintain decorum and order in the House of Representatives.

Members are supposed to be legislating and serving their constituents—not using official resources to further political objectives. McCarthy’s conduct here is especially problematic because he is negotiating official resources and the political activities of federal super PACs as part of his effort to win enough votes to become the next Speaker of the House. Given this blatant abuse on the use of official resources, I respectfully request that you promptly investigate this matter.

However, ethics violations might be the least of McCarthy’s problems. Let’s discuss how McCarthy may have broken the law.